Advice please

Bless your heart. You are new at this aren't you? Don't worry. You'll get enough experience. Just make sure you have enough backup and resources with you.

you will learn more on nights than you ever expected. good luck

I am a nursing student who will be graduating in June this year. I went on a job interview at the hospital I want to work at and on the unit I would like to work on. It is a Med-surg unit and I was offered a position for nights. As a new grad, I am well aware that I would most likely have to work nights/evenings. My worry is will I be exposed to enough on the night shift? Will I get the same hands on experience at night that I would on days/evenings? My orientation would be on days/evenings. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

At one point during my first year of nursing we were short on night shift, so I worked 7p-7a for 3 months. I found that it was refreshing because most nights I had more time to "process" and "absorb" what was going on with my patients. I also learned how to chart as I went instead of putting it off to the end of shift. I gave a wide variety of medications thanks to those q4, q6, and q12 hour orders. I tranfused blood and did peritoneal dialysis. I received admissions, and there was a very occassional discharge. Patients and families needed education and caring. If a patient was being transferred to another hospital, it seems like the transfer center of the receiving hospital called for the details in the wee hours of night shift. Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, what goes in must come out (either as pee, poop, or vomit:chuckle )...no matter the time of day (or night).:) If I had it to do over again, I would suck it up (didn't like sleeping during the day:stone) and work nights my first year. I THINK I would have been much more satisfied with the experience that way. Good luck. Hang in there. It's worth it!

People seem to think that patients sleep all night!! They don't!! As above stated, the same stuff happens as does during the day. The huge difference is the commotion is far less, not a million doc's rounding at the same time, sending everyone everywhere. You also don't have the support staff that you have during daylight hours. I have been working nights for almost two years and have gained an incredible amount of experience. Good Luck!

Yep i agree, you will have plenty of action on nights. Surgical procedures are done 24/7, so you will have new surgicals, patients that are doing poorly, all those things still happen on nights too.

Thanks everyone for the responses! I am really excited about the position and cannot wait to graduate so I can start! It's great to have somewhere to go to ask these kinds of questions and know that people are speaking from experience! Thanks again!

Im anew grad myself August 05, I started nights at a rural hospital and have been there now for 4 months. I also oriented during the day for 4 weeks and I can say that i have seen just as much as i would have if i worked days. The things missed by night shift are:

1. Actual face to face time with Dr's (but phone time takes this place, some Dr's do make rounds in the evening, we have one that shows up at 1 or 2am nughtly

2. Pt's dont have the routine off the floor testing (only if urgent)

3. Visitors leave at 8pm at my hospital.

4. If a situation does arise you have a bit more time to spend with the pt and Dr's to actualy see how interventions actualy work.

5. 24hr chart checking happens to be the night nurses duty at my hospital and you can learn so much by reading the chart and the progress notes.

Im sure i could go on but I have to cut it short today, but im sure you get the picture. I think the most important aspect to look at would be thre floors teamwork and friendlyness. Dayshift or nightshift who cares if you cant look for guidance,patience,and just plain kindness from your co-workers..... Thats what I needed the most, I have the book smarts now I need the mentorship of as many seasoned nurses as I can find be it a RN,LPN,and or a Tech. I have soaked up so much from all of the team its amazing there's room for more LOL!!!

Goodluck with the new career

PS (pack a lunch, at my hospital the cafe closes at 7pm and the food machine just doesn't cut it.

Mark RN

You will learn plenty on nights! Thats when everything seems to go wrong. Pt accidntly pulled out this or that in their sleep, blood is frequently transfused at night, lots of falls, etc. You learn to be independent since you don't have other staff to depend on. Give it a try!

Why on earth would anyone work days?

Advantages of night shift:

NO admin.

Fewer doc interactions.

Some pts DO sleep.

NO routine procedures; CAT scans, etc.

NO meals - (BF, Lunch and Dinner ALL happen on a 12 hr DAY shift)

Fewer family interactions (And wait till you get your fill of the first 2 stages of grief - anger and denial - before you judge what a blessing that is)

I sleep while my kids are at school, so nobody's home but me.

I've always been a night person, so no having to get up at 5am. If I'm asleep at 1pm, it's BECAUSE I'm being a productive member of society!

Most hosp need night help much more than days, so, if you can learn it (sleeping during the day that is), you have much greater job opportunities. And this will be a much greater benefit a few years down the line, if you decide to move to a specialty area. For example, my CCU has a 2 yr waiting list for days, but looking for night help right now. If you wanted to get into CCU on days, join the crowd. You want to work nights? We'll fit you right into the next orientation course. . .

And most new grads have related to me that the major difference between days and nights isn't the experience, but the PACE at which they receive that experience. It is a more even keeled Pace.

And most of all: for all these benefits over day shift, I GET PAID MORE. 2.50/hr shift differential.

Wow.

I can't understand someone that would actually want to work days. I always think to myself, 'suckers!'

~faith,

Timothy.

I feel like a new grad! LOL! I worked ALF for 3+ years and now doing agency in mainly med surge! It is like working with things I hadn't worked with in forever (the conditions are the same, just hadn't worked with some of the equipment at ALF)...

I love SWING, can do noc just yet (kids) for the same reason people love noc! I don't have to deal with the day time woes all shift, only part! I can be busy...yet typically have time towards the end of shift to get caught up with my charting!

Some of the perks:

*Visiting hours are over, and I still have 3 hours left to get anything done I needed to while visitors were in there!

*Not a ton of meds, or stat meds being ordered (most cases...they tend to do most meds in the AM incase of discharge).

*If I have to do a before meal CBG, I only have one to have to do! LOL! And usually a HS...

*Usually not a ton of order changes, and I can focus more on other issues...I find pain control a biggie that I can usually fix during swings vs days when things are so hectic. Usually day time means PT, so they are hurting by swing...time to hit those interventions and help (and usually a call to the MD..LOL!).

*Docs are usually so tired they are silly at this point and fun to joke with! LOL! (they know they are going home! LOL!).

*Less phone calls from family/friends of patients wanting a report..LOL!

*Plenty of linens in the eve! LOL (this can be very nice!).

*Kitchen closed at 2100, so I only have two hours of emesis potential! LOL!

*Most cases I am not advancing diet or activity after 1900.

and so much more!

Have fun with it...I find it is a great way to start...or for me, relearn!

I am really looking forward to working Nightshift after reading this thread. I worked 7 nightshifts as an extern/tech over the summer and I loved it!!!

I had no problem sleeping until 1:30pm, only there is more traffic going home in that direction but coming in there was none.

The only prob. I did have was getting sleepy at 5am when things settled down, but if I was eating a snack I was ok.

I ended up losing weight on NS because I just wasn't hungry. Then I would be sleeping from 0830 to 1330 or 1400 Get up eat, eat more around 2000-2130 then more at 0300 How does everyone else resolve the eating situation?

I graduate in May so I will be looking for a NS position. I enjoy having the time at night with my husband before I leave for work @ 2230 and then seeing him at 0800. No kiddies yet....but I assume that would work well for them. I esp. like to go home in the morning while everyone else is stressed about going in to work.....I like being the oddball....HB